BATHROOM REMODELING IN TUSTIN, CA

List the trades the remodel touches. Each of these changes a system or the structure, so plan on a permit and inspections for it:

• Plumbing: a moved toilet, vanity or shower drain, a new shower valve, or a tub-to-shower conversion.
• Electrical: added outlets, a heated floor, new lighting or a circuit for the exhaust fan.
• Mechanical: a new or rerouted exhaust fan duct.
• Structure: a moved or removed wall, or a changed window opening.

A toilet, faucet or showerhead swapped in place, with no change to the pipes or valves, is a smaller question to put to the Building Division. Bring the city's FAQ on when building permits are required to that conversation.

• City of Tustin: FAQ – When are building permits required? (opens in a new tab)
• City of Tustin: FAQ – How do I get a building permit? (opens in a new tab)
• City of Tustin: Permits Process (opens in a new tab)
• City of Tustin: Forms & Handouts (opens in a new tab)
• City of Tustin: Water Heaters and Furnaces handout, Community Development Department (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
• City of Tustin: Building (opens in a new tab)

We have relied on the titles of the city's FAQs and documents, not restated them. Confirm with the Building Division which permits your bathroom needs before demolition starts.

A bathroom is where California's water-conservation law shows up most directly. Civil Code Section 1101.4, added by SB 407 in 2009, says that for building alterations or improvements to a single-family home built on or before January 1, 1994, replacing noncompliant plumbing fixtures with water-conserving ones is a condition of final permit approval. Section 1101.3 defines what counts as noncompliant:

• A toilet that uses more than 1.6 gallons per flush.
• A showerhead with a flow capacity of more than 2.5 gallons per minute.
• An interior faucet that emits more than 2.2 gallons per minute.

Two other state codes apply as well. The 2025 Energy Code (Title 24, Part 6), in effect for permit applications from January 1, 2026, has residential lighting rules in Section 150.0(k): new installed lighting is to be high efficacy, and at least one installed luminaire in each bathroom is controlled by an occupancy or vacancy sensor that turns it off automatically. The 2025 California Electrical Code calls for ground-fault (GFCI) protection on bathroom receptacles, and bathroom receptacles are supplied by a 20-amp branch circuit.

An exhaust fan, a relocated shower valve or a new circuit can each bring their own permit and inspection. What applies to your bathroom is decided by the city at plan check and inspection, so confirm with the city.

Civil Code Section 1101.3 defines a water-conserving fixture by the current building standards for a newly built property of the same type. HCD's summary of the 2025 CALGreen code (form HCD SHL 625) lists these limits for new fixtures:

• Toilets: no more than 1.28 gallons per flush.
• Showerheads: no more than 1.8 gallons per minute at 80 psi. Where one valve controls several showerheads, their combined flow is held to the same limit.
• Bathroom sink faucets: no more than 1.2 gallons per minute at 60 psi, and at least 0.8 gallons per minute at 20 psi.

HCD's summary says CALGreen applies to new homes and to alterations that increase a building's conditioned area, volume or size. Orange County's handout for bathroom remodels under the 2025 codes cites the California Plumbing Code for the same toilet, showerhead and sink faucet limits. Choose fixtures by their listed flush volume and flow rate, and keep the specification sheets for the inspector.

For a remodel inside the existing walls, confirm with the Building Division which standard your new fixtures must meet.

On a tub-to-shower conversion we check the drain location, the floor and the wall framing, then build the shower pan, waterproofing and tile. Once the tile is on, the valve, drain and waterproofing are out of sight, so ask the Building Division which inspections it wants before the walls are closed, and request them through its Inspection Requests page.

Settle the exhaust fan at the same stage. HCD's summary of the 2025 CALGreen code calls for ENERGY STAR bathroom fans ducted to terminate outside the building, with a humidity control unless the fan is part of a whole-house ventilation system, and the Energy Commission's 2025 compliance manual says lighting built into a fan is controlled independently from the fan. Ask the plan checker which of these applies to a fan replaced in an existing bathroom.

Open walls are also the moment to plan for access. Even if nobody needs them yet, a curbless entry, a shower bench or backing in the walls for future grab bars is simpler to build into the floor and framing now than after the tile is finished.

• City of Tustin: Inspection Requests (opens in a new tab)

Which inspections your bathroom needs is the city's decision. Confirm with the Building Division before work starts.

If your home is in a homeowners association that requires approval for physical changes, Civil Code Section 4765 sets the ground rules for that review: the association's decision is to be in writing, and a disapproval has to explain why and describe how to ask for reconsideration. HOA approval and a city permit are separate. One does not replace the other.

Check the association's rules even if nothing changes outside, since they may limit contractor work hours or parking. A new fan vent on an outside wall or a replaced bathroom window may also need its sign-off.